The Kahaualeʻa 2 flow remains active, and continues to slowly expand into the forest northeast of Puʻu ʻŌʻō.

The photo shows the main area of vegetation fires, along the north margin of the flow. Mauna Loa can be seen in the distance in the upper right. (Click to Enlarge)

The flow front of the Kahaualeʻa 2 flow has cut a narrow swath through forest northeast of Puʻu ʻŌʻō. The narrow lobe at the front is now inactive, with the main area of surface flows about 2km (1.2 miles) behind the end of this lobe.

Some of these surface flows are slowly expanding northward into the forest, creating vegetation fires. Puʻu ʻŌʻō is in the upper left. Click to Enlarge

An equivalent thermal image:

This thermal image shows the front of the Kahaualeʻa 2 flow. A narrow lobe at the very front is now inactive (evident by the slightly lower surface temperatures), while the main area of active surface flows (shown by white areas) are farther back from this leading edge. Click to Enlarge

This photo looks southwest, and shows Puʻu ʻŌʻō. The northeast spatter cone on the east rim of the crater is near the center of the photo, and is the vent area for the Kahaualeʻa 2 flow.

The lava tube feeding the Kahaualeʻa 2 flow extends from the northeast spatter cone down the north flank of Puʻu ʻŌʻō, in a direct line towards the lower right corner of the photo. Click to Enlarge

The thermal image below is an equivalent view, and highlights the lava tube well.

This thermal image shows Puʻu ʻŌʻō (see visual photograph at left for equivalent view). Recently, the southeast and northeast spatter cones have produced small overflows out of the crater, shown clearly here by their warm temperatures. The vent for the Kahaualeʻa 2 flow is at the northeast spatter cone, and the lava tube supplying the Kahaualeʻa 2 flow is obvious as the line of elevated temperatures extending to the lower right corner of the image. Click to Enlarge

It was remarkably clear during Wednesday’s overflight of Kīlauea’s east rift zone. This photo is taken from Puʻu ʻŌʻō, and looks northwest. Mauna Kea is at the right, and Mauna Loa is at the left.

In front of the summit of Mauna Loa, the degassing plume from the lava lake at Kīlauea’s summit is rising vertically. Click to Enlarge